it's your new favorite breakfast!

My cousin Karina loves spinach dip. Every Thanksgiving it is requested that the dip be made for her (and everyone else). This year I decided to switch it up a bit to a hot version (baked hot, not spicy hot).

This is another recipe from my favorite channel, the Food Network. And even though it’s a Paula Deen recipe, there is NO butter (unbelievable, huh?)

It’s the Holiday Season and it’s time for giving! Linus (and his mom) have graciously shared their recipe for Stealth Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with me! Thanks for the guest blog Linus！I’m still waiting for my cookies in the mail.

“I don’t know about you, but I kind of hate oatmeal cookies. They’ve
got this weird texture and people are often tempted to put raisins in
them. But oatmeal is really healthy, so finding a way to integrate it
into cookies is a good way to feel less guilty about eating baked
goods that are approximately 99% butter and sugar. This recipe is the
result of my desire to integrate oatmeal into cookies in a way that
doesn’t make them horrible.

Ok first things first, the name is deceiving (even tricked me) as I thought these would turn out more like “bars” as opposed to the cake that it did turn out to be. So expect cake, or bread, or loaf (if you use a loaf pan). But all things put aside, it is so moist and yummy. I ended up eating the unfrosted portions for breakfast!

This is also a recipe I found on Food Network’s site after searching for all things with pumpkin. As you read before, I love all things pumpkin and during this time of year, when the grocery store shelves are lined with canned pumpkin, how can I resist!?

6. To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. (Note: I would hold off on the icing until you are ready to serve)

Continued from the previous post, here is the recipe to make your own wrappers. Again, the recipe below is adapted from one of our all time favorite Chinese recipe books, The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo. Making fresh wrappers really make a difference in the taste and texture of the final potstickers. You should definitely try it out at least once!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

Directions
1. Mix flour and water in a large mixing bowl, until thoroughly mixed and a ball begins to form. (let sit while you make the filling)

2. Dust your work surface (and hands) with flour and pour the dough out onto it. Knead it for about 2-3 minutes, using the heels of your hands, until the dough is smooth. Continue to add some flour if it sticks to the surface or your hands.

3. Then, shape the dough into a log and roll it back and forth until it becomes a thin sausage (about 1 inch in diameter and 28 inches long). Cut it into 28 pieces.

4. Take each piece and press down on it with the palm of your hand. On a floured surface, roll it out into round pieces (about 3.25 inches in diameter) until all the pieces are complete.

A few weeks ago, I got a request from Cindy for a dumpling party at my place. I host one every once in a while and it’s always a hit.. This time was even better, especially since I had willing volunteers who happily sat and did all the manual labor.. I mean they made beautiful dumplings all evening long. They’re pretty easy to make as the hardest part is getting the filling right and the rest is just folding the dumplings. The best part is that if you make enough, you have leftovers for the rest of the week.

We started using store bought wrappers, but ended up having an excess of filling, so we improvised and made our own wrappers. In case you want the complete homemade experience, I’ve included the wrapper recipe here as well. We usually don’t follow a recipe, so I’ve included the recipe below from one of our all time favorite Chinese recipe books, The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo.

If you are lucky enough, or persistent enough, you may be able to join me one day at a dumpling party!

INGREDIENTS

Filling Ingredients
Note: This recipe makes ~28 small dumplings. Usually for every lb of meat, I’ll buy 2 packages of wrappers. Usually, I will use 2-3 lbs of meat.

2. In a separate bowl, rinse and drain the napa cabbage. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, toss, and let sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze lightly to get rid of excess moisture and add to the meat. Add the chives to the meat.

3. Thoroughly mix the meat with the cabbage and chives.

Making the potstickers

1. Dust your work surface with flour and fill a small bowl with water.

2. As demonstrated by Cindy above, take a wrapper and spoon ~ 1 tablespoon of filling onto the wrapper. Dip your finger into the water bowl and circle the edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the middle with your fingers. Then start pinching small overlapping pleats on each half starting from the middle and working your way to the edge. Make sure the dumpling is sealed.

3. As you finish the dumplings, you can put them on a lightly floured cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they’ve been in there for ~10 minutes they can be stored in bags for later use.

4. To cook the potstickers, add vegetable oil to a non stick skillet (with a lid) on medium-high heat. Then place the potstickers (fresh or frozen) into the pan, leaving room in between. Let cook for ~2-3 minutes, until the bottom is browned. Then add ~ 1/4 cup hot water into the skillet and quickly cover with the lid. This will allow the dumpling filling to cook. After the water has evaporated, turn the heat down and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the dough and filling are cooked. Serve with Tao’s Dipping Sauce Recipe (see below) and enjoy!

I swear that in a past life somewhere I was a Southern girl because I love all heavy foods, especially biscuits and gravy. One Saturday morning I woke up and all I could think about was making and eating biscuits and gravy- so I did. I adapted the recipe, which was originally in Food &Wine magazine, based on the ingredients I had in my fridge. So here is my adapted recipe, but you can always get the original from the link above.

Make the biscuits:
1. Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles small peas.

2. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, onion, egg and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times.

3. Pat or roll the dough into a 7-inch square, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 4 squares and place on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 375° and bake on the center rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden on the bottom and cooked through.

Tada! Biscuits!

Make the gravy:
Note: This is where I deviate a lot from the recipe since I didn’t want real sausage.

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onions, and diced sausage. Add the flour and whisk until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the stock and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and a generous pinch of pepper and stir in the parsley.

Putting it all together
Top the biscuits with the sausage gravy and enjoy.

Last weekend we threw a dumpling party, at the request of Cindy. Don’t worry, those posts are coming. Anyways, AYoo brought over an appetizer of cucumbers and pepper paste, which I thought was delicious and hit the spot. I’ve been to some Korean restaurants where this sauce is way to salty, but this one was just the right amount.

So of course I asked if he would be my semi-guest blog and send me the recipe and a picture of the sauce. Thanks Ayoo!

“Here’s the recipe for the sauce I had with the cucumbers. Goes good with a lot of korean stuff.” -AYoo